Next to Godliness

Leviticus 11:44-47 "I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves about on the ground. 45 I am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.
46 "'These are the regulations concerning animals, birds, every living thing that moves in the water and every creature that moves about on the ground. 47 You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.'"

The event of Peter's vision (10:9 and following)is monumental. I'm not confident I understand what is happening. But I will give my best shot. Here's my take so far:

1. These animals really had been unclean. Read Leviticus 11. Someone who loved the LORD would have had no part with them. 2. God is not telling Peter that it is okay to eat what is unclean. He is not giving permission to do wrong. The voice said, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean." 3. It's not that God has flip-flopped. He has not changed his mind as much as he has changed the animal. These animals which had been unclean were now clean. Another product of the cross, perhaps.

Why would God purify the pig?* The only plausible reason I can think of (and the one spelled out with Peter's imminent involvement with the house of Cornelius) is that it frees his people to the unclean without being infected. I guess it is because he loves people that much.


*Why would God purify a pig? I meant this as a literal question. But taken figuratively, it is the mystery of the cross.

(And the picture came from lutheranwomen.ca)

Where You Are

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." (Matthew 5:6)

In a place untouched by Christian mission work, God was already preparing the harvest. The uncircumcised Gentile, Cornelius, and his household (his family and servants) had already learned enough about God to desire to please him. Acts 10:2 "He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly."

It does remind me of that line from the Sermon on the mount. They hungered for righteousness, and now that the Kingdom had arrived, they could finally have it.

It also reminds me, in a way like Robinson Crusoe, that God is at work everywhere. The King is the better part of the Kingdom. He moves with and without his people following. My part (as Henry Blackabee taught so well) is to pay attention to where he is working and join in.

We need to be humble enough with people to remember that very rarely are we really introducing someone to God. Their experience with us is likely not their first experience with the Kingdom. You are probably not "the only Jesus they will ever see." You will probably not have to take someone from the starting line to the finish line all by yourself. Simply do your (Spirit-empowered) best to do you part to feed those who hunger.

In time of terror

I included this prayer back in the beginning of June. I found it in "A Ragamuffin Prayer", a compilation of prayers and writings about prayer by Jimmy Abegg, member of the Ragamuffin Band. It seems all the more appropriate today considering what happened in London yesterday.

In 1989, Northern Ireland was hit by terrorists. 29 people in small island died. Steve Stockman was asked to give a prayer on BBC radio less than a week afterward. This is what he prayed:

Lord, we come to the end of another week
Except that it hasn't been just another week
It has been the worst week of our lives
And even worse for some
Lord, help us to be honest, vulnerable, and somehow hopeful in the reflection of our feelings.

Lord, we have been shocked
Shocked by how one tiny second can tear our lives apart
Shocked by how far humanity can fall
Shocked by how callous and painful our actions can be, how low we can stoop.

Lord, we are grieving
Grieving for the loss of lives with so much love and energy still to give
Grieving for the man and woman and child we will never be able to hold again
Grieving that our history is so sad and twisted.

Lord, we are confused
Confused at why this should happen
Confused about how this should happen to the innocent
confused about where You and faith enter into these events.

Lord, we are angry
Angry at why we allowed our family and friends to go shopping
Angry at how evil people could rip our world asunder
Angry that You allowed it to happen.

Lord, we are seeking
Seeking some kind of feeble consolation in the midst of our deluge of tears
Seeking some kind of hope that good might come from evil
Seeking your Spirit, whom Jesus called a Comforter, to whisper into our maddening silence.

Lord, we are squinting for faith
Faith that the majority might have some kind of say in the future
Faith that love will end our hate, good will end our evil, and grace will touch our broken hearts
Faith in a God who is as angry as we are and who is reaching out his hand to us.

Lord, we are remembering
Remembering those who today can no longer be shocked, grieve, be angry, be confused, seek or squint for faith
Remembering that You watched as Your Son, covered in blood, die at the futile whim of injustice
Remembering that His death is the only thing we can grope after in the dark of a week like this.

Lord, we have planted our loved ones deep in the bloody earth of Ireland this week
We have watered them with our tears
Lord, may You allow them to be seeds of love that will grow into our peace.
Lord, remember us.

Amen."

Louise

Today we celebrate the funeral of Louise Bailey. At 91, you would have sworn she was indestructible. She had more strength and energy than most the women half her age. She used that strength and energy to serve. She only joined our church maybe two years ago, but quickly found herself at home in the church kitchen. My strongest memories of her will be of when we packed the clothes bags for Master Provisions. She helped with that long before she ever became a member of our church. For those who have done it, you know what hard work that is. I could go on and on with her generosity, the way she loved my children, the way she cared for the other widows in the church, the way she always smiled, or her positive attitude toward change. Suffice it say, her death leaves us with a void. We will miss her.

Heaven though has gained a good worker. And I wonder, if she seemed strong and indestructible here, what will she be like on the other side?
(1 Corinthians 15:42,54-57)